Carnival Cruise Line is making a monumental change to its beverage service, and it’s one that will have many passengers (including the author) cheering.
Coca-Cola products are returning to the cruise line.
This is really a re-kindling between Coke and Carnival. The cruise line previously served Coke products until about six years ago. In late 2019 Carnival switched over to Pepsi, serving items like Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Mountain Dew, and Sierra Mist.
For passengers that didn’t want to drink Pepsi, they could still bring on 12-packs of their favorite brands like Coca-Cola when boarding, but you couldn’t buy them on the ship.
According to a press release, passengers should start to see Coke products starting later this summer. And the cruise line says Coke will be across the fleet by the end of September.
That means starting in just a few weeks, you should start to see Coke, Diet Coke, Topo Chico, Sprite and more being offered around the ship. There’s no word of the Coca-Cola “Freestyle” machines that offer dozens of different flavors and drinks will be installed or only traditional cans and soda fountains.
“Carnival Cruise Line and Coca-Cola are two iconic brands that celebrate fun, family, friendship, food and fabulous memories,” said Christine Duffy, president of Carnival Cruise Line. “We are excited to welcome back Coca-Cola’s diverse lineup of beverages which our guests love and which will enhance the food and beverage experience that is always part of a great cruise vacation on Carnival.”
Carnival Fan Applaud the Change Online
This move is already being met with gratitude by many Carnival passengers. Within minutes the announcement on Carnival’s Facebook page was met with hundreds of likes.
“Made my Day!” wrote one fan.
“So I don’t have to order a Jack and Pepsi anymore?” wrote another.
“You have no idea how happy this makes me,” offered up another person.
“So glad it’s back! We are getting older and those 2 twelve packs were getting heavier every cruise,” said one fan.
Unless buying a drink package, however, we’d suggest that many people should continue to bring on those 12-packs even if they are Coca-Cola drinkers. As a reminder, Carnival allows you to bring on 12 cans or cartons of non-alcoholic beverages. This can save you significant money on the ship.
While a 12-pack of soda might run $7-8 in a grocery store, you can expect to spend $3-4 for a single drink onboard. In other words, that 12-pack is actually worth nearly $50 on the ship.
For Coke drinkers, however, it will be nice not to be asked “Is Pepsi Ok?” anymore on your cruise.
So you drink a clear spite like soda… and that is worth it, but not if it is diet sprite?
I am diabetic and drink only diet sodas. I can’t stand cola, so Diet Coke and Coke Zero are out. We always bought the bottomless bubbles package because of Diet Mountain Dew and Zero Sugar Starry. Now, unless the Poweraids that John mentioned in his clip this morning are included in the BB package, we just won’t see the value in it for only Sprite Zero.